Orrin Henry Ingram
| Orrin Henry Ingram | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 13, 1830 Westfield, Massachusetts |
| Died | October 16, 1918 Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery |
| Residence | Third Avenue and Hudson Street, Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
| Occupation | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelia Pierce Ingram |
| Children | Charles Ingram Erskine B. Ingram Fanny Ingram Miriam Hayes |
| Parent(s) | David A. Ingram Fanny Granger |
| Relatives |
Julius Ingram (brother) Edward S. Hayes (son-in-law) Orrin Henry Ingram, Sr. (grandson) E. Bronson Ingram II (great-grandson) Frederic B. Ingram (great-grandson) Martha R. Ingram (great-granddaughter-in-law) Ingrid Goude (great-granddaughter-in-law) David B. Ingram (great-great-grandson) Orrin H. Ingram II (great-great-grandson) John R. Ingram (great-great-grandson) |
Orrin Henry Ingram (May 13, 1830 – October 16, 1918) was an American lumber baron and philanthropist from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Orphaned at age 11, he established sawmills in Ontario, Canada, and the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin. He was responsible for the deforestation of the Chippewa Valley and the establishment of many small towns in the area. He was a banker and philanthropist in Eau Claire.
Ingram was born on May 13, 1830, in Westfield, Massachusetts. His paternal grandfather, David Ingram, had immigrated from Leeds, England, in 1780. He grew up in Saratoga, New York, and he was orphaned at eleven, as his father died in 1841. He worked on a farm from the age of eleven to seventeen. After his mother remarried, they lived on Lake George. Orrin's brother, Julius Ingram, would become a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Ingram started his career at Harris & Bronson Lumber Company in New York City in 1847. The company was active in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area. Later, he worked for Fox & Englin, building a sawmill on the Rideau Canal and several sawmills on the Moira River, both of which are in Canada. Shortly after, the built another sawmill in Ottawa, Canada, for Harris & Bronson. He was then hired by Gilmour & Company, another Canadian lumber company. He invented the gang edger, but failed to patent it, leaving that opportunity to someone else.
In 1857, Ingram established a sawmill in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin with Donald Kennedy and Alexander M. Dole. Their systematic deforestation led to the establishment of new towns across the valley. They established lumber yards in Wabasha, Minnesota, and Dubuque, Iowa. By 1881, the concern became known as the Empire Lumber Company. It was headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the lumber yard in Wabasha became the Wabasha Lumber Company and the one in Dubuque became known as the Standard Lumber Company. Ingram served as the president of both companies. He was also the founder and president of the Rice Lake Lumber Company in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Additionally, he was an early investor in Friedrich Weyerhäuser's timber investments, later known as the Weyerhaeuser corporation.
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